Sell your apartment in Berlin

Selling your apartment in Berlin was probably not one the worries you think you’d face at this point. Acquiring a property to live in first is always the hard bit, isn’t? How difficult can it be to put your flat for sale on the market and let the prospective buyers come to you? And after all, this time, you are in control, you are on the right side of the negotiation table.

While it is true you are more in control of timing, price and have the psychological edge, the process of selling an apartment in Berlin is not exactly void of hurdles that can lead to more frustration, losses of time and money.

My piece about buying a flat in Berlin got quite popular and was shared quite a bit on social media and per email, which lead to some requests for such a piece on the process of selling an apartment in Berlin. Thus this time again, i will try to lay out all the different elements, documents, stake holders and processes involved so you can make better decisions along the way.

Please note that this is an attempt to cover an excessively large topic, so it might be wise to make yourself a cup of tea before reading on. You’ve been warned. 🙂

A matter of timing: is the right time to sell your apartment in Berlin?

Not everyone has total control over the moment during which you have to sell. Many need a bigger place for a growing family, others are simply moving somewhere else. In these cases, selling a property answers to the need of a larger reserve to buy the next one. However, if you do have the opportunity (and the advantage) to wait for the most favorable conditions, you might want to give a think before committing to selling your apartment in Berlin.

It is true that it is currently a very favorable environment on the supply side in the German capital as there is a very strong demand for properties, especially within the Ring. A simple word of caution is then to be aware of the market and make sure that you don’t sell during a downward trend due to a real estate bubble for example.

Assessing your property

Whether this property was your first investment or not, it all boils down to a bet you’ve made a few years ago; the prospect of an interesting added-value when you sell it again. But do you know how far you’ve got? You have put a lot of time, effort and money in your apartment for renovation works, new equipment, or possibly a new roof if you live in a house.

If you live in an apartment, this might be even more complicated as there might have been renovation works in the common spaces of the building, or a new access to urban heating, etc. How do those transformations impact the value of your property? And who can put a price tag on all those factors?

This an optional step but it is recommended to have those questions answered by a professional. It might cost you a bit but it will help you during negotiation to firmly stand your ground.

What’s better than a bullet-proof confidence into the value of your home to push your asking price up?

You can reach out to different people for this this:

Yourself

Who else would be in a better position to tell a property’s value than its very own owner? That is a sound assumption because you could easily add up all your expenses on top of the price you paid, all those years ago. It might not be perfect but with a little bit of additional research similar properties on sites like ImmoScout24, you could reach a realistic number. That is definitely possible but prejudices and emotional bias can get in the way, especially if you are living in the place. Some people might overestimate the value of some cosmetic changes in the apartment, and others underestimate the extent of work needed to attract the right buyers for example. It leaves room to error.

Immobilien Gutachter

Sometimes, all you need is a second opinion or a more objective one. It’s the role of Immobilien Gutachter (Real estate surveyor) services. They gather data from different databases and come directly on site to survey your property in detail to input all relevant parameters and set a realistic price. It’s also sometimes called Baugutachter or Immobilienbewertung or Immobilienwertermittlung. The important thing to know here is that not all surveyors are created equal as the occupation is not regulated as such. Therefore when looking for one, make sure that they are registered with the Chamber of Commerce (IHK) or Chamber of Architects (Architektenkammer), or alternatively that they are certified with DEKRA. It will help you find independent neutral professionals who comply to higher quality standards. Expect costs between a few hundred to a few thousands euros depending on the value of your property.

Online platforms

If you are not ready to commit so much money for a second opinion when selling your apartment in Berlin, you might want to turn to online platforms. Within a few minutes and through a dynamic questionnaire (enter adress, size, construction year, etc), they are able to give you a fairly good assessment of what you can expect on the market. Costing less than a hundred euros, it might be a good compromise between costs, trust factor and accuracy. You can turn to:

Estate Agent

This is sometimes lesser known but estate agencies can help you assess the value of your property and often at no costs for you. They have the data, experience and insights into the market to set a realistic price for your property. The service is free because it’s an opportunity for the agency to get to know you and your project, which could lead to a longer-lasting relationship if you like them. Think of it as a garage offering a free winter check for your car in the hope you will come back for something larger in the future. It’s fair business and it lets you talk to potential partners for the sale, without committing too much.

I can personally only recommend Invest-AB for this, as i did in my previous post. They helped me search a good property to buy in Berlin and they were very helpful and friendly at all stages, speaking English, French and German. I think their hundred of customers would agree with me too. They are used to the pains and issues of foreign buyers on all aspects of the process.

Be thorough 🙂 Source: Giphy.com

To sell an apartment in Berlin without an agency

This is a highly personal question and it might be of special importance if this is your first time selling your apartment in Berlin. Do you want to go through that process alone, without the help of an estate agent? The main reason behind this is often costs; why give up so much money on a service i could very well not really need. It’s definitely doable but it’s difficult to pull off because it adds up a lot of work and stress. It’s a like a second-job on top of your normal one. Sometimes, a third-party can also help to smooth the communication out a little bit, which is often key to a successful sale.

You also have to consider the German market as well, which is not very liquid for private owners. In a nutshell; since Germans are reluctant to own the place they live in, the market “von Privat an Privat” is not so developed as in other countries. It’s hard to avoid estate agents altogether. However, you can turn to those dedicated platforms gathering offers from private owners only:

So should you hire an estate agency? I guess you need to answer this question: do you have the time and necessary skills to manage the promotion of your property, lead a successful negotiation to reach the best possible price with the best possible buyer, and all of that on top of your normal job and in German? Consider those parameters again if you have a time constraint on top of it all.

Preparing the process

This piece of advice is no rocket-science but i guess it’s always a good reminder; you need to do your homework before viewings and selling your apartment in Berlin

Make sure your property is as attractive as possible

If you have had small repairs or renovation works on your to-do list for a while, now is a good time to do them. First impressions count and prospective buyers will look at every small damage, crack, loose window hinges, etc to try to push the price down. Sometimes, a simple fresh coat of paint can do wonders.

All documents needed to sell your apartment in Berlin

One of your main jobs is make sure that the buyer has access to all necessary elements to make a decision fast. Some of those documents you probably already have, but you will probably to request or collect the others at your Hausverwaltung company or from the Amtsgericht. Here is a pretty complete list of document you need to sell an apartment in Berlin. I have sorted them out in terms of importance.

Nice to have

About finances and taxes when selling an apartment in Berlin

As you probably know already; finding a buyer, working with an estate agent or setting things up with a notary are not all the battles you need to win in this little war of yours. You also need to fight one last time to figure out what will happen with the sum of money you will have on your hands then.

I wish it very dearly for you, there will be a nice benefit on your investment when all of this over. But what about taxes then?

The rules are pretty simple in Germany, you might be taxed with those 3 taxes:

Spekulationssteuer: if you didn’t live in the place yourself (Eigennützung), this extra tax is due if you are selling the property before a 10-year period. It is calculated on the added value and on your income tax rate. This tax is not due if you live in it the year you sell the place and the 2 years prior too.

Gewerbesteuer: if you somehow had enough capital to buy and sell multiple properties at once (e.g 3 properties within 5 years), the Finanzamt might come after you with this tax and consider your case as a commercial activity.

Umsatzsteuer: Private owners don’t pay added-value tax on the transaction, except if again the Finanzamt considers this a commercial activity.

Regarding your Steuererklärung that year

2 scenari are to be considered for most people:

Property is sold and money is not reinvested somewhere else: In this case, you will need to make sure that you let the Finanzamt know about this exceptional income for that year (Sondereinkommen). Don’t forget that all expenses that went towards selling are “minuses” that will decrease the total amount of taxable income.

Property is sold and money is reinvested somewhere else: this case is somewhat easier because most (or all) of the exceptional income will be invested somewhere else (a new home for example), balancing things out in the end. Same thing here, all costs in that process are “minuses” your Steuerberater can use to optimize your tax return.

Source: Giphy.com

Bridge-financing

It happens very often that timing doesn’t always work out perfectly in terms of cash-flow between the moment your sell your apartment in Berlin and the moment your buy the new one. You might need a bridge loan then (Brückenfinanzierung or Zwischenfinanzierung in German). Concept and conditions are quite similar than in other parts of the world, but make sure your understand all small prints in the contract with your bank.

I hope this post gave you a view on the bigger picture of things. Don’t hesitate to ask questions or add details in the comment. I would like to recommend again Invest-AB. They are nice and competent estate agents with experience with international clients and expertise in all parts of the process. They helped me a great deal during my search without being too pushy and salesy, while remaining realistic about expectations. Don’t hesitate to put pressure on them by mentioning my positive feedback here. 🙂

6 Comments

Hi. I’m a landlord trying to sell a property but the tenant is putting potential buyers off. I’ve been told I should offer them an upfront amount of money €4-6k and let them stay for another 3 mths to get themselves sorted out. Is this the norm?

Hey Pamela. There is no rule to this. It’s all about negotiation. But in general yes, offering a lump sum and some time for figure out the next move is pretty normal in Germany, since some contract won’t allow termination so easily.

Thank you for this little piece it made me realise that selling is not an easy proposition. I want to sell my apartment in Berlin which is next to the Berliner Ensemble somewhere in October November I would have owned it for about 5 years. I am not paying any German taxes as I live in Australia but have EU citizenship. I believe my profit if any will be reinvested in other real estate and and any tax paid in Australia on Global income. We have lived in the apartment property for up to 6 months at a time and altogether for about 12 months in total if not a little more. Otherwise the property remains empty and is in excellent condition with a brand new Modern Kitchen and excellent facilities. I wonder how best to sell it.

Thank you for a good “need to know”. I will sell my apartment this summer, having owned it and rented it out for 10 years now. The buyer is the renter, and he will take care of most of the procedures, but I am in a doubt of how I handle the tax situation. Can you recommend a Steuerberater? Or would you consider it possible to do oneself? I am EU citizen and do not pay my income tax in Germany.

Hi Maj. If you are not a German resident, i believe that you will pay the income tax on this transaction in your home country. If you need to find an English-speaking steuerberater to assist you in this, you can look at platforms like Ageras, that connect you with them at no costs for you.